Tag Archive for: mobile syrup

Dropbox now caters to over 1 billion uploads every day, according to CEO Drew Houston. The company, which is rumoured to go public sometime this year, has 100 million users over 500 million devices.

Recently, OEMs like HTC and Samsung have entered into partnership with Dropbox, providing up to 50GB of free storage for two years. It has also expanded its mobile focus, pushing automatic photo uploads and album creation on iOS and Android. The company also recently released a native Windows 8 app for RT users, and has been integrated into BlackBerry 10.

Dropbox has yet to release a native app for Windows Phone, but has a robust read/write API that does a decent job in filling in the spaces.

Source: CNET

According to a recent IDC survey, 91% of Canadian smartphone owners keep their devices in reach 100% of the time. Think about that statistic for a moment. There are roughly 21 million smartphones in use Canada, with a 59% adoption rate across the carriers. Nineteen million Canadians are never more than a few steps from their handset(s).

We’ve all been there: that moment, perhaps months or years after the purchase of your first smartphone, when you realize you’re completely, hopelessly addicted to that device in your pocket or your purse. For most people, it is a gradual, insidious change of behaviour; half an hour a day turns into an hour that becomes several. Where once you may have been able to ignore the flashing red light, you are now summoned to it like a salivating dog after kibble.

When was that first moment for you? I think, for me, it was when I discovered the custom ROM scene on Android. The day after I brought home a Motorola Milestone, hearing about all the things you could do with a rooted device — like jailbreaking on steroids. Unlike the Verizon Motorola Droid, which shipped with an unlocked bootloader, the Milestone was very much a baby of the carriers, completely locked down. I spent hours on XDA-Developers parsing instructions, reading tips and tricks, attempting to root that sucker. I slept little that night, and there have been others like it since, the attraction of breaking down a device’s OEM-imposed barriers too tantalizing to resist.

Cellular phones have changed our lives; we can’t remember a time when it wasn’t possible to make a call from anywhere, and many take for granted that, instead of reading a book on the way to work, there is always a few minutes for Subway Surfer or Words With Friends. And when you’re sitting in a nice restaurant and your phone vibrates in your pocket, don’t tell me there hasn’t been a moment of panic as you wondered whether it was important enough to risk being considered rude.

Smartphone addiction shouldn’t be dismissed, either, despite the levity of the preceding paragraphs. It can cause real, substantive harm to a person’s life. But that’s not for this column; we are all slaves to our phones, but hopefully, at the end of the day, we are still in control.

This news is a bit of a shocker. Nadir Mohamed, President and Chief Executive Officer of Rogers, has decided to retire from company effective January 2014. Mohamed took on this role on March 30th, 2009 and there was no specific reason in the press release for his departure, only that he’s ensured that “the company’s in great shape and it’s time to start the transition to the next generation of leadership. Over the next year I look forward to delivering strong results and to ensuring a seamless transition.” Rogers Board of Directors will be appointing a search firm to find a new President and CEO, but stated that both Edward Rogers or Melinda Rogers will not be gunning for the position.

Mohamed said “the Company has a seasoned executive team, the best asset mix in North America, the most advanced networks and the best platform to lead and drive the next wave of growth. The company’s in great shape and it’s time to start the transition to the next generation of leadership.”

Source: CNW